Amulet in the Shape of Two Mirror-Imaged Birds
Ancient Egyptian
Byzantine Period (4th–7th century)
Medium
Shell
Dimensions
2.9 × 1.3 × 0.2 cm (1 1/8 × 1/2 × 1/16 in.)
Classification
amulet
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
140815
About the Artist
Ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egyptian artists, a collective of highly skilled artisans spanning over three millennia from the Predynastic period (c. 6000–3150 BC) to the Roman era (30 BC–4th century AD), produced some of humanity's most enduring masterpieces. These anonymous craftsmen, often organized in state-sponsored workshops, lived in dedicated communities like Deir el-Medina near Luxor during the New Kingdom (c....